Machine for manufacturing tie-plates.



No' 8173795* MLKE ATBNTED APR.17, 1906. W. MGKBB. vl 7/ VLNAGNINE FOR MANUFACTURING TIB /y//Z APPLICATION FILED JAN. 7.1905. RENBWED PEB. 24. 1906.

2 SHEETS-SHEET L WITNESSES:

PATENTBD APR. l?, 1906.

W. MGKEB. MACHINE FOR MANUFACTURING TIE PLATES.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 7. 1905. RENEWBD 2213.24. 1906.

IN vENToR um; hwg, LCLJQCMQQAM'S wwnesses:

WILLIS MCKEE, OF ELYRIA, OHIO.

MACHINE FOR MANUFACTURING TIE'PLATES.

- No'. Simfree.'

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April. 1'7, 1906.

Application filed January l7, 1905. Renewed February 24, 1906. Serial Np. 302,769.

To a/ZZ whom, it "may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIS MCKEE, a citi- Zen of the United States, residing at Elyria, in the county of Lorain and State of Ohio,

5 have invented or discovered a certain new and useful Improvement in Machines for Manufacturing Tie-Plates, &c., of which iinprovement the following is a specification.

The invention described herein relates to io` certain im rovements in the manufacture of tielates or railways.

T ie preferred tieplates are constructed with ribs or flanges on their upper sides parallel with the direction of the rail resting thereon and on the under side with ribs or flanges at right angles to the direction of the rail. These tie-plates are preferably formed by rolling in continuous lengths, having the ribs formed thereon in the rolling opera-tion,

2o as described and claimed in application filed January 13, 1905, Serial No. 240,964, and to complete the tie-plates it is necessary to punch holes therein for the passage of the spikes and also to divide the continuous plate into sections. As it is practically impossible in the rolling operation to so conduct the reduction of the plate that the distance between the transverse ribs shall be always the same, on account of the difference of elon- 3o ation in different parts of the plates, and,

urther, it is necessary that the holes punched -in the plates should have a certain 'fixed or definite position with relation to the transverse ribs, it is impossible in shearing and punching the plates to employ a stop which shall abut against the end of the strip.

It is the 'object of the present invention to provide in such a slieai'ing mechanism a stop which shall engage the rib with relation to 4o which the holes must be punched.

It is a further object of the machine to provide improvements for feeding the continuous strip to the shearing and punching .mechanism and to relieve the strip or plate from the dies, so that it maybe fed along after eachV shearing and punching operation.

The invention is hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a 5o part of this specification, Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of my improved shearing and punching mechanism, the female dies being shown in section. Fig. 2 is a sectional plan view, the plane of section being indicated by the line II II, Fig. l. Figs. 3 and 4 are end elevations, respectively, of opposite ends of the shearing and punching mechanism.

In the practice of my invention the punching-dies 1 and 2 are adjustably secured on 6o the bed 3 of a suitable Vpower-prese, the dies being arranged in accordance the ositions desired for the holes in the finishe tieplate. It will be understood. thatA two, three, or four dies may be usedl and that when four holes are to be punched the dies are arranged in pairs, as shownn These dies are provided with longitudinal holes therethrough for the passage of the material removed from the plates. As in the shearing 7o operation the flanges a on the other side of the plates are arranged to project downwardly, so that such flanges will not be mutilated in the shearing operation, provision is made for the reception of these flanges in. the tops of the dies 1 by means of grooves formed in the upper ends of the dies. The dies 2 are made with flat to s, as shown. In the rear of the punching ies and at a distance from the punching die or dies a little 8ol greater than the length of the tie-plate is arranged a stationary shear-blade 4, preferably secured with capability of adjustment on the bed 3 of the machine.

'lo the movable head 5 of the ress are ad- 8 5 j ustably secured two, three, or our blocks 6 and 7, cach provided with means for holding a. punch. 'lhese blocks are so adjusted that the punches will be in line with the vertical passages of the several dies l and 2. To the 9o head 5 is also secured with a ca ability of adjustment a block S, carrying "asliear-blade 9. While not necessary, it is preferred to ar\ range a feed-table in front of the machine having rollers l1, which may be positively 5 driven to feed a continuous strip to the machine. In order to lift the plate so that the rib a thereon will clear the groove in the dies 1, a roller 12 is mounted u on an arm 13, pivotally secured to the fee -table and havroo ing its free end connected to a treadle 14. By depressing this treadle the strip is lifted so that the ribs a will clear the dies and the strip can be fed forward.

As the holes to be punched must have a certain predetermined relation to the transverse ribs a., I provide a stop which shall engage these ribs and arrest the forward movement of the strip. In the construction shown this stop consists of a plate 16, extendr ro ing rearwardly from a point adj aeent to front ,2. :pla-41"...l

therein for the reception of the transverse ribs a. The determining notch or recess b is formed in line with the grooves in the upper ends of the dies l as shown in Fig. 1, or if the holes are to be at one side of the transverse rib the positions of the dies relative to the notch in the stop-plate will be correspondingly shifted. It will be readilyunderstood by those skilled in the art that when holes are to be punched through the rib a or in such proximity thereto -as to require grooves in the ends of the dies that such grooves or notches may Serve as stops. In the construction Shown the plate 16 is xed as regards the dies 1,' but the dies 2 are movable with reference to the notch in said plate.

It will be observed that in my improved `machine the punchingT of the holes in one 4plate and the shearing ofi' of the previously- 2O punched plate are simultaneouslyv effected, so that at each movement of the movable head of the press a plate is formed. As scale or other material may lodge in the notches or grooves in the dies l and the stop-plate it is preferred to arrange a blast-nozzle 1S is such relation thereto that each time the plate is lifted a blast of air will blow transverse these notches and remove any foreign material.

I claim herein as my invcntion- 1. In a machine for manufacturing tieplates, &c., the combination of stationary dies, vertically-movable punches and a stop arranged to permit the passage of the body of the article but adapted to engage a projecting portion of the article to be punched, substantially as set forth.

2. In a machine for manufacturing tieplates, &c., the combination of Stationary dies, a stationary shearblade, movable punches and shear-blade and a stop arranged to permit the passage of the body of the article but adapted to engage a projecting portion of the article operated on, substantially as set forth.

3. In a machine for manufacturing tieplates, &c., the combination of adjustablymounted punching-dies, an adjustable shearblade, a movable head, punches and a shearblade adjustably mounted in the head, and a stop arranged to engage a projecting portion ofthe article operated on, substantially as set forth.

4. In a machine for manufacturing tieplates, &c. the combination of punching-dies, a stop arranged to engage a projecting portion of the article operated on, dies adjustable with reference to said sto a movable head, punches carried by said lhead, one or more of said punches being adjustable and a stop arranged intermediate of the dies adapted to engage a projecting portion of the article operated on, substantially as set forth.

5. In a machine for manufacturing tieplates, &c., the combination of dies, a movable head, punches carried by said head, a plate provided with a stop-shoulder ada ted to engage a projection on the under si e of the article to be punched, and means for raising said article clear of the stop, substantially as set forth.

G. In a machine for manufacturing ribbed tie-plates, &c., the combination of verticallymovable punches and stationary dies provided in their upper faces with grooves for the reception of the ribs on the plates whereby a firm bearing for the plate on the dies is provided, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

ILLIS MCKEE.

IVitiiesses:

FRANK H. PHILLIPS, Ron'r. M. HUBLER. 

